Chapter 35
Chapter Thirty-Five
Sophie
“You can’t be serious.” I gasp when we step out on the Bella Rosa’s rooftop and there’s a sleek, shiny helicopter waiting for us.
The fact that the rotors are still doesn’t make it look any more safe or intriguing.
Looking at them, I set my chin. “You’re not putting me in that.”
“We are all getting into it,” Lucian counters, his voice calm, as if everyone flies off a skyscraper.
“You know those things are held in the air by optimism, right?”
Caleb laughs. “I believe it’s called aerodynamics.”
“That sounds suspiciously theoretical.”
The pilot walks over, easy smile, no rush. “Good morning. I’m Ben. I’ll be flying you out today. First time?”
“Is it that obvious?”
“You’re looking at it like it insulted your family.”
“I feel like it has.”
Ben grins. “Clear morning. I’ll talk you through the hop if that helps.” He opens the door, and when I narrow my gaze at the machine as if it needs to convince me, he adds, “She’s steadier than she looks.”
I glance at Lucian, then Caleb. They’re waiting patiently, but a small smile tugs at Lucian’s lips.
Ben gives us the abbreviated version of what I assume is a much longer safety briefing—where to walk, what not to touch, how the headsets work, and several warnings involving the rotors that I would prefer not to dwell on.
One of the ground crew members opens the rear door.
Lucian gestures for me to go ahead.
I look at the helicopter, then at him. “So I die first?”
“So you get the best view.”
For once, the answer steals my argument.
Even with the rotors still, I instinctively duck as I cross the helipad.
“You don’t have to crouch yet,” Caleb says behind me.
“I prefer unnecessary caution to premature decapitation.”
His laughter follows me as I climb inside and slide into the rear seat.
Caleb settles beside me while Lucian takes the other side. Then they help me fit my headset.
“You okay?” Caleb asks.
I wrinkle my nose. “I haven’t decided.”
“We can abandon this at any point.”
I exhale, looking back at the open door at the rooftop. If I say yes, they will let me step out. The knowledge makes it easier for me to stay. “I’m willing to give it a try.”
The helicopter doors close, and a vibration passes through the seat as the rotors begin moving overhead.
The noise builds, and then the headset shuts most of it away.
Despite my attempts to be brave, I curve my fingers against the seat.
Caleb covers one hand with his. Lucian closes his fingers around the other.
Then suddenly my stomach drops as the rooftop falls away beneath us. “Oh God.”
Caleb’s hand tightens. “Look out the window.”
“I am looking out the window. That is the problem.” Below us, the Bella Rosa shrinks. Then the helicopter turns, and the Strip opens beneath us.
Even in daylight, the city is astonishing. Pools glow turquoise among acres of white concrete. Replicas of monuments rise beside glass towers and sprawling resorts.
Caleb leans closer to the window beside me. “It’s even more spectacular at night.”
“You’ve done this before?”
“A few times.”
Lucian’s mouth curves. “He grew up here.”
I look at Caleb. “You did?”
“Mostly.”
There is something in the way he looks down at the city—longing but also lost—that makes me want to ask more.
As I watch, the city gives way to desert, then mountains, then the startling blue of Lake Mead. Hoover Dam appears below us, enormous even from the air, before the landscape opens again.
By then, I have stopped worrying about every small movement of the helicopter.
Ben’s voice comes through the headset. “We’re approaching the western edge of the Grand Canyon.”
I bring my attention back to the window.
Ahead of us, the ground appears to end.
The canyon does not reveal itself all at once. It opens in stages, one immense cliff giving way to another, then another beyond it, until distance becomes impossible to judge.
Then we cross the rim.
The earth falls away beneath us.
For one suspended heartbeat, there is nothing below but air, shadow, and the distant ribbon of the Colorado River.
I forget to breathe.
The canyon surrounds us in vast, layered walls—crimson, amber, violet, and dark brown. Sunlight pours across the upper ridges while the depths remain cool and shadowed.
The helicopter glides deeper, following the curve of the canyon.
“We wanted to take you away from your obligations, help you see things from a bigger vantage point.”
My eyes suddenly sting, and I pretend to be fascinated by the river below.
But the truth is, I’ve spent years and years focused on my schooling, on earning money, on helping with my mom. And to have someone want to show me something different…? I don’t even know what to think.
For the next few minutes, I simply watch.
Every turn reveals another impossible view—deep ravines disappearing into shadow, cliffs stacked like ancient fortresses, stone rising from stone beneath an endless blue sky.
At some point, I realize I’m still holding both their hands, and that I like it.
Ben circles once more before beginning the climb toward the rim.
The rings on my hand flash between Caleb’s fingers.
My rings.
My husbands.
My honeymoon.
“Are you still with us?” Caleb asks when we land at a heliport and he’s helped me remove my headset.
“That was…incredible.” A once in a lifetime experience, and I look between them. “Thank you.”
“We want you to trust us, wife.” Lucian’s voice is gruff, and in that moment, I believe he means what he says.
The problem is, I’m not sure I ever will entirely.
Caleb glances at his watch. “Hungry?”
After that experience, I’m surprised that I am, just a little. “I could eat.”
“We could return to the Sterling,” Lucian says. “Or have lunch at the Bella Rosa.”
Before I can respond, Caleb shakes his head. “I have somewhere else in mind.”
Lucian considers him for a moment. Then he nods. “It’s your city.”
A black SUV is waiting, and the driver opens the door for us. “Where are we going?”
Neither man responds.
“Another surprise?”